Electronic apparatus and audio output apparatus composing audio output system, and control method  thereof

ABSTRACT

An electronic apparatus of an audio output system is provided. The electronic apparatus includes: a first communicator configured to transmit a first radio signal and receive a first response signal; a second communicator configured to transmit a second radio signal and receive a second response signal; and a processor configured to: determine a first distance between the first communicator and an audio output apparatus based on the first response signal, determine a second distance between the second communicator and the audio output apparatus based on the second response signal, determine a location of the audio output apparatus based on the first distance and the second distance; establish a communication connection with the audio output apparatus based on one from among the first response signal and the second response signal; and set a channel of the audio output apparatus based on the determined location of the audio output apparatus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2016-0169876, filed on Dec. 13, 2016 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate toan electronic apparatus and an audio output apparatus composing an audiooutput system, and a control method thereof, and more particularly, toan electronic apparatus and an audio output apparatus which are able tooutput audio signals to an external speaker, and a control methodthereof.

Related Art

With recent enhancement of electronic technology, various kinds ofelectronic apparatuses have been developed and distributed. Inparticular, various kinds of electronic apparatuses that include displaydevices are increasingly used throughout households. For example, hometheater systems include audio output systems which enable users to feela sense of depth and increased realism in their homes by using images ofhigh quality audio resources. Such audio resources may be provided overmultiple audio channels.

Many home theater systems include a plurality of speakers at specificlocations to increase a stereo effect. In the case of a 5.1 channelsetup, the plurality of speakers may include directional speakers, suchas a front left (L) speaker, a front right (R) speaker, a centerspeaker, a rear L speaker, a rear R speaker, and a sub-woofer.

However, when an existing home theater system is installed, it isdifficult for users to distinguish between speakers, and to know wherethe speakers should be located and how the speakers should be arranged.Accordingly, the users must refer to a manual or manually set channelsfor each of the speakers. In addition, when the home theater system isnot in use, the speakers may be stored in one place. In this case, inorder to arrange the speakers for use in the home theater system, theuser must distinguish between the speakers and set the channels of thespeakers every time the speakers are arranged, which causesinconvenience to the users.

SUMMARY

One or more exemplary embodiments may overcome the above disadvantagesand other disadvantages not described above. However, it is understoodthat one or more exemplary embodiment are not required to overcome thedisadvantages described above, and may not overcome any of the problemsdescribed above.

One or more exemplary embodiments provide an electronic apparatus whichcan automatically set a channel of an audio output apparatus in an audiooutput system, an audio output apparatus, and a control method thereof.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided anelectronic apparatus including: a first communicator configured totransmit a first radio signal and receive a first response signal; asecond communicator configured to transmit a second radio signal andreceive a second response signal; and a processor configured to:determine a first distance between the first communicator and an audiooutput apparatus based on the first response signal, determine a seconddistance between the second communicator and the audio output apparatusbased on the second response signal, determine a location of the audiooutput apparatus based on the first distance and the second distance;establish a communication connection with the audio output apparatusbased on one from among the first response signal and the secondresponse signal; and set a channel of the audio output apparatus basedon the location of the audio output apparatus that is determined.

The processor may be further configured to: determine the first distancebased on a first time difference between a time at which the first radiosignal is transmitted and a time at which the first response isreceived; determine the second distance based on a second timedifference between a time at which the second radio signal istransmitted and a time at which the second response signal is received;and determine the location of the audio output apparatus based on thefirst distance, the second distance and a distance between the firstcommunicator and the second communicator.

The first response signal may include information regarding a time atwhich the audio output apparatus receives the first radio signal, thesecond response signal may include information regarding a time at whichthe audio output apparatus receives the second radio signal, and theprocessor may be further configured to determine the location of theaudio output apparatus based on the first distance, the second distance,a first time difference between a time at which the first radio signalis generated and a time at which the audio output apparatus receives thefirst radio signal, and a second time difference between a time at whichthe second radio signal is generated and a time at which the audiooutput apparatus receives the second radio signal.

The audio output apparatus may be one of a plurality of audio outputapparatuses, and the processor may be further configured to: control thefirst communicator and the second communicator to communicate with eachof the plurality of audio output apparatuses; determine relativelocations of each of the plurality of audio output apparatuses based onreceived corresponding response signals; and set a channel of each ofthe plurality of audio output apparatuses based on the relativelocations.

The processor may be further configured to transmit, to the audio outputapparatus, a control signal for adjusting an output level of the audiooutput apparatus based on the location of the audio output apparatus.

The first communicator and the second communicator may be configured tocommunicate according to a Bluetooth communication method.

The electronic apparatus may further include a storage configured tostore information regarding a plurality of target locations respectivelycorresponding to of a plurality of audio output apparatuses and channelscorresponding to the target locations, and the processor may be furtherconfigured to set a channel corresponding to a closest target locationto the audio output apparatus as the channel of the audio outputapparatus based on the information stored in the storage.

The channel of the audio output apparatus may include a channelcorresponding to at least one from among a front speaker, a rearspeaker, a center speaker, and a sub-woofer.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a control method of an electronic apparatus, the control methodincluding: transmitting a first radio signal via a first communicator;transmitting a second radio signal via a second communicator; receivinga first response signal via the first communicator; receiving a secondresponse signal via the second communicator; determining a firstdistance between the first communicator and an audio output apparatusbased on the first response signal; determining a second distancebetween the second communicator and the audio output apparatus based onthe second response signal; determining a location of the audio outputapparatus based on the first distance and the second distance;establishing a communication connection using one from among the firstresponse signal and the second response signal; and setting a channel ofthe audio output apparatus based on the location of the audio outputapparatus.

The determining the first distance may include determining the firstdistance based on a first time difference between a time at which thefirst radio signal is transmitted and a time at which the first responsesignal is received, the determining the second distance may includedetermining the second distance based on a second time differencebetween a time at which the second radio signal is transmitted and atime at which the second response signal is received, and thedetermining the location of the audio output apparatus may includedetermining the location of the audio output apparatus based on thefirst distance, the second distance, and a distance between the firstcommunicator and the second communicator.

The first response signal may include information regarding a time atwhich the audio output apparatus receives the first radio signal, thesecond response signal may include information regarding a time at whichthe audio output apparatus receives the second radio signal, and thedetermining the location may include determining the location of theaudio output apparatus based on the first distance, the second distance,a first time difference between a time at which the first radio signalis generated and a time at which the audio output apparatus receives thefirst radio signal, and a second time difference between a time at whichthe second radio signal is generated and a time at which the audiooutput apparatus receives the second radio signal.

The audio output apparatus may be one of a plurality of audio outputapparatuses, the receiving may include receiving response signals fromeach of the plurality of audio output apparatuses, the determining thelocation may include determining relative locations of each of theplurality of audio output apparatuses based on response signals receivedfrom the plurality of audio output apparatuses, and the setting mayinclude setting a channel of each of the plurality of audio outputapparatuses based on the relative locations.

The control method may further include transmitting, to the audio outputapparatus, a control signal for adjusting an output level of the audiooutput apparatus based on the location of the audio output apparatus.

The first communicator and the second communicator may be configured tocommunicate according to a Bluetooth communication method.

The setting may include setting the channel corresponding to a closesttarget location to the audio output apparatus as the channel of theaudio output apparatus using pre-stored information regarding targetlocations of a plurality of audio output apparatuses and channelscorresponding to the target locations.

The channel of the audio output apparatus may include a channelcorresponding to at least one from among a front speaker, a rearspeaker, a center speaker, and a sub-woofer.

According to an aspect of yet another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided an audio output apparatus including: an audio outputter; acommunicator configured to receive a first radio signal and a secondradio signal from an electronic apparatus; and a processor configuredto: transmit a first response signal responding to the first radiosignal and a second response signal responding to the second radiosignal to the electronic apparatus; establish a communication connectionwith the electronic apparatus using at least one from among the firstresponse signal and the second response signal; and set a channel ofaudio to be output through the audio outputter based on locationinformation of the audio output apparatus received from the electronicapparatus.

The processor may be further configured to adjust an output level basedon the location information of the audio output apparatus.

The communicator may be further configured to communicate according to aBluetooth communication method.

The processor may be further configured to receive, from the electronicapparatus, information regarding a plurality of target locations of aplurality of audio output apparatuses and a plurality of channelsrespectively corresponding to the plurality of target locations, and seta channel of the plurality of channels corresponding to a closest targetlocation to the audio output apparatus, of the plurality of targetlocations, as the channel of audio to be output through the audiooutputter.

Additional and/or other aspects and advantages will be set forth in partin the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of exemplary embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects will become more apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of an audio output systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of anelectronic apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a view to illustrate a method for determining a location of anaudio output apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of anaudio output apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a view to illustrate a method for changing an output levelaccording to a distance of an audio output apparatus to a targetlocation according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram to illustrate an interaction between anelectronic apparatus and a plurality of audio output apparatusesaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view to illustrate a method for arranging audio outputapparatuses when they are not in use according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronicapparatus in detail according to another exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart to illustrate a control method of an electronicapparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in detail.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be diverselymodified. Aspects of exemplary embodiments are illustrated in thedrawings and are described in detail in the detailed description.However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is notlimited to the specific exemplary embodiments discussed herein, butincludes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Also,well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail sincethey would obscure the disclosure with unnecessary detail.

First, the terms used in the specification and the claims are normalterms which are selected in consideration of the functions in variousexemplary embodiments. However, the terms may be changed according to anintention or a legal or technical interpretation of a person skilled inthe art and the advent of new technology. In addition, some terms may bearbitrarily selected by the applicant. These terms may be interpreted asdefined in the present specification and may be interpreted based on thepresent specification and typical common knowledge of the relevanttechnical field unless defined otherwise.

In addition, the same reference numerals or signs described in theattached drawings indicate components or elements performing thesubstantially same functions. In other exemplary embodiments, the samereference numerals or signs may be used for convenience of easyexplanation and understanding. That is, even if plural drawingsillustrate all of the elements having the same reference numerals, theplural drawings do not represent one exemplary embodiment.

In addition, terms including ordinal numbers such as “first” and“second” may be used to distinguish between elements in thespecification and the claims. The ordinal numbers may be used todistinguish between the same or similar elements and should not beinterpreted as limiting the meanings of the terms by the use of theordinal numbers. For example, elements combined with the ordinal numbersshould not be interpreted as limiting using order or arrangement orderby the numbers. The ordinal numbers may be used interchangeably whennecessary.

As used herein, the singular forms are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms“comprise,” “have,” “include” or “compose” indicate the presence offeatures, numbers, steps, operations, elements, and components describedin the specification, or a combination thereof, and do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps,operation, elements, or components, or a combination thereof.

In exemplary embodiments, the terms “module,” “unit,” or “part” are usedto indicate an element performing at least one function or operation,and the element may be implemented by using hardware or software, or maybe implemented by using a combination of hardware and software. Inaddition, a plurality of “modules,” “units,” or “parts” may beintegrated into one or more modules, and may be implemented by one ormore processors.

It will be understood that when an element is connected with anotherelement, the element may be directly connected with another element, andthere may be an intervening element between the element and anotherelement. In addition, it will be understood that when a part includes anelement, the part does not exclude other elements and may furtherinclude other elements unless they are defined otherwise.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of an audio output systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

The audio output system 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment may beimplemented by using an electronic apparatus 100 and an audio outputapparatus 200. As shown in FIG. 1, the audio output system 1000 may beimplemented by using a home theater system.

Specifically, in the home theater system, the electronic apparatus 100may be implemented by using a media reproduction apparatus, and theaudio output apparatus 200 may be implemented by using a surroundspeaker. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the audio output apparatus 200may include six speakers in total, having different channels, that is, afront L speaker 200-1, a front R speaker 200-2, a center speaker 200-3,a rear L speaker 200-4, a rear R speaker 200-5, and a sub-woofer 200-6.According to an exemplary embodiment, the audio output apparatus 200 maybe implemented by using less or more than six speakers having differentchannels.

The speakers should be arranged at appropriate locations according totheir respective functions. For example, the front speakers 200-1 and200-2 may be arranged at both sides of a television (TV) or a screenwhich is placed in front of a user, and the center speaker 200-3 may bearranged at the center between the front speakers 200-1 and 200-2.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the audio output system 1000 maybe implemented as a home network system capable of two-way communicationby connecting the electronic apparatus 100 and the plurality of audiooutput apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 as a single system using wirelesscommunication. However, this should not be considered as limiting aslong as the audio output system 1000 is a system which has a pluralityof apparatuses connected with one another through a network and controlsthe apparatuses.

In this case, the electronic apparatus 100 may be implemented tocommunicate with a gateway apparatus, a network server, a controllerapparatus, or the like or to be provided with a function of the gatewayapparatus, the network server, the controller apparatus, or the like,and may control the overall operations of a plurality of devices in thenetwork system.

Meanwhile, when arranging the audio output apparatuses of the audiooutput system 1000, normal users may have difficulty in knowing wherethe audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 should be arranged withreference to the location of the electronic apparatus 100. Inparticular, when the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 havesimilar appearances, it is difficult for the users to distinguish theaudio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 from one another. According tothe present disclosure, the electronic apparatus 100 may calculate thelocations of the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 based ontriangulation through radio signals such as Bluetooth signals or thelike, and may automatically set channels of the audio output apparatuses200-1 to 200-6 (channels corresponding to the front speakers, the rearspeakers, the center speaker, and the sub-woofer) for implementing asurround effect of 5.1 channels, based on the calculated locations.

Accordingly, the electronic apparatus 100 according to an exemplaryembodiment may be implemented by using an apparatus which is providedwith at least two communicators and outputs different radio signals, andmay determine the locations of the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to200-6 based on triangulation according to a process of receiving radiosignals from the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 placed nearby,may set the channels of the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6based on the determined locations, and may provide various servicesrelated to the determined locations.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of anelectronic apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic apparatus 100 may include a firstcommunicator 110, a second communicator 120, and a processor 130.

The first communicator 110 and the second communicator 120 communicatewith the audio output apparatus 200. Herein, each of the firstcommunicator 110 and the second communicator 120 may be a transceiver(transmitter and receiver) or communication interface that communicateswith the audio output apparatus 200 through radio signals according tovarious wireless communication methods such as Bluetooth (BT), WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi), Zigbee, near field communication (NFC), or the like.

Specifically, in response to a predetermined event occurring, the firstcommunicator 110 and the second communicator 120 may transmit signals tothe audio output apparatus 200 according to a pre-defined communicationmethod. For example, in response to the electronic apparatus 100 and theaudio output apparatus 200 communicating with each other according tothe Bluetooth communication method, the first communicator 110 and thesecond communicator 120 may transmit Bluetooth signals for searching theaudio output apparatus 200 around the electronic apparatus 100. In thiscase, a signal transmitted from the first communicator 110 is referredto as a first Bluetooth signal and a signal transmitted from the secondcommunicator 120 is referred to as a second Bluetooth signal.

The first communicator 110 and the second communicator 120 may beimplemented to be able to perform bidirectional communication with theaudio output apparatus 200. In response to response signals to the firstand the second Bluetooth signals being received from the audio outputapparatus 200 which has received the first and the second Bluetoothsignals, the electronic apparatus 100 may enter an interworking statewith the audio output apparatus 200 by means of at least one of thefirst communicator 110 and the second communicator 120 which hasreceived the response signals. Herein, the interworking state may referto any state in which communication is possible like an operation ofinitializing communication between the electronic apparatus 100 and theaudio output apparatus 200, an operation of forming a network, and anoperation of performing device pairing. In response to the electronicapparatus 100 and the audio output apparatus 200 performingcommunication in the Bluetooth communication method, the responsesignals transmitted from the audio output apparatus 200 may includedevice identification information such as a pin code of the audio outputapparatus 200, and accordingly, pairing may be performed between theelectronic apparatus 100 and the audio output apparatus 200.

The first Bluetooth signal and the second Bluetooth signal may includeidentification information regarding the first communicator 110 and thesecond communicator 120 to be distinguished from each other, and may usedifferent frequency bands.

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment in which the electronic apparatus100 and the audio output apparatus 200 perform communication throughBluetooth signals according to the Bluetooth communication method willbe described for convenience of explanation. However, it is obvious thatthe radio signals are not limited to the Bluetooth signals and includeradio signals according to various communication methods such as Wi-Fi,Zigbee, NFC, or the like as described above.

The first communicator 110 and the second communicator 120 may beconfigured to be spaced from each other by a predetermined distance. Forexample, the first communicator 110 and the second communicator 120 maybe embedded in the right end and the left end of the electronicapparatus 100, but this should not be considered as limiting. Forexample, the first communicator 110 and the second communicator 120 maybe implemented by using independent devices connected with theelectronic apparatus 100 in a wire or wireless manner. In this case, theelectronic apparatus 100 may know the locations of the firstcommunicator 110 and the second communicator 120.

The processor 130 may be configured to control the overall operation ofthe electronic apparatus 100.

In response to the response signals to the first and the secondBluetooth signals being received from the audio output apparatus 200,which has received the first and the second Bluetooth signals, throughthe first communicator 110 and the second communicator 120, theprocessor 130 may determine the location of the audio output apparatus200 based on a distance between the first communicator 110 and thesecond communicator 120 and the received response signals.

Specifically, the audio output apparatus 200 may receive the Bluetoothsignals, and, in response to the first and the second Bluetooth signalsoutput from the electronic apparatus 100 being received, the audiooutput apparatus 200 may transmit first and second response signals tothe first and the second Bluetooth signals. In this case, the responsesignals may be transmitted after a predetermined time since theBluetooth signals have been received, and may include identificationinformation on the audio output apparatus 200.

In response to the response signals being received by the electronicapparatus 100, the processor 130 may calculate a time difference betweenthe time at which the first communicator 110 transmits the firstBluetooth signal and the time at which the first response signal isreceived in response to the first Bluetooth signal, and may calculate adistance between the first communicator 110 and the audio outputapparatus 200 based on a speed value of the Bluetooth signals. Inaddition, the processor 130 may calculate a time difference between thetime at which the second communicator 120 transmits the second Bluetoothsignal and the time at which the second response signal is received inresponse to the second Bluetooth signal, and may calculate a distancebetween the second communicator 120 and the audio output apparatus 200.

The processor 130 may determine the relative location of the audiooutput apparatus 200 to the electronic apparatus 100 according totriangulation using the distance between the first communicator 110 andthe audio output apparatus 200, the distance between the secondcommunicator 120 and the audio output apparatus 200, and the distancebetween the first communicator 110 and the second communicator 120.

According to another exemplary embodiment of measuring the distancesamong the first communicator 110, the second communicator 120, and theaudio output apparatus 200, the response signals received by theelectronic apparatus 100 from the audio output apparatus 200 may includeinformation regarding the time at which the audio output apparatus 200receives the first and the second Bluetooth signals. In this case, theprocessor 130 may calculate a time difference between the time at whichthe first communicator 110 transmits the first Bluetooth signal and thetime at which the audio output apparatus 200 receives the firstBluetooth signal, and may calculate a distance between the firstcommunicator 110 and the audio output apparatus 200 based on a speedvalue of the Bluetooth signal. In addition, the processor 130 maycalculate a time difference between the time at which the secondcommunicator 120 transmits the second Bluetooth signal and the time atwhich the audio output apparatus 200 receives the second Bluetoothsignal, and may also calculate a distance between the secondcommunicator 120 and the audio output apparatus 200.

In response to the location of the audio output apparatus 200 beingdetermined, the processor 130 may connect communication with the audiooutput apparatus 200 using one of the first and the second responsesignals, and may set a channel of the audio output apparatus 200 basedon the determined location of the audio output apparatus 200. Forexample, in response to the electronic apparatus 100 and the audiooutput apparatus 200 communicating with each other according to theBluetooth communication method, the processor 130 may perform pairingwith the audio output apparatus 200 using at least one of the first andthe second Bluetooth signals.

Specifically, the processor 130 may differently set channels of theplurality of audio output apparatuses based on the relative locations ofthe plurality of audio output apparatuses which are determined withreference to the electronic apparatus 100.

In order to set a location of a predetermined range around theelectronic apparatus 100 to a specific channel, the electronic apparatus100 may use information showing that a location of a specific rangearound the electronic apparatus 100 and a channel are mapped onto eachother. That is, a location of a predetermined range around theelectronic apparatus 100 may be mapped onto a channel, and theelectronic apparatus 100 may designate the location of the predeterminedrange around the electronic apparatus 100 as a target location of theaudio output apparatus 200. Accordingly, the electronic apparatus 100may further include a storage 140 to store information on targetlocations of the plurality of audio output apparatuses and channelscorresponding to the target locations.

The processor 130 may set a channel corresponding to the closest targetlocation to the audio output apparatus 200 as the channel of the audiooutput apparatus 200 based on the stored information.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the processor 130 maydetermine the relative locations between the plurality of audio outputapparatuses based on the response signals received from the plurality ofaudio output apparatuses, and may differently set channels of theplurality of audio output apparatuses based on the determined relativelocations.

That is, the processor 130 may determine directions and distances ofother audio output apparatuses with reference to at least one audiooutput apparatus, and accordingly, may calculate relative locations ofthe audio output apparatuses and may set channels according to thecalculated relative locations. For example, an audio output apparatuswhich is implemented by using a front L speaker may be arranged at alocation spaced from an audio output apparatus implemented by using afront R speaker in a leftward direction by a predetermined distance, andmay be arranged at a location spaced from an audio output apparatusimplemented by using a rear L speaker in a forward direction by apredetermined distance. According to the relative locations, theprocessor 130 may set channels of the respective audio outputapparatuses.

FIG. 3 is a view to illustrate a method for determining a location of anaudio output apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the processor 130 may calculate a distance y₁ tothe audio output apparatus 200 from the first communicator 110 based ona time difference t₁ between the time at which the first communicator110 outputs the first Bluetooth signal and the time at which the firstresponse signal to the first Bluetooth signal is received, and a speedv_(b) of the Bluetooth signals. For example, the distance y₁ may equalt₁/2*v_(b). In addition, the processor 130 may calculate a distance y₂to the audio output apparatus 200 from the second communicator 120 basedon a time difference t₂ between the time at which the secondcommunicator 120 outputs the second Bluetooth signal and the time atwhich the second response signal to the second Bluetooth signal isreceived, and a speed v_(b) of the Bluetooth signals. For example, thedistance y₂ may equal t₂/2*v_(b).

According to another exemplary embodiment, the processor 130 maydetermine a distance to the audio output apparatus 200 based on thestrength of response signals received from the audio output apparatus200. That is, since the strength of Bluetooth signals is reduced ininverse proportion to a distance, the first communicator 110 and thesecond communicator 120 may measure received signal strength indication(RSSI) values of the response signals received from the audio outputapparatus 200, and may determine a distance to the audio outputapparatus 200 according to the measured RSSI values. In this case, theelectronic apparatus 100 may further include a storage 140 to store atable in which RSSI values and distances corresponding to the RSSIvalues are matched with each other, and may determine a distance to theaudio output apparatus 200 using the stored table. The processor 130 maycalculate the distance y₁ to the audio output apparatus 200 from thefirst communicator 110 using the strength of the first response signalreceived at the first communicator 110, and may calculate the distancey₂ to the audio output apparatus 200 from the second communicator 120using the strength of the second response signal received at the secondcommunicator 120.

However, the electronic apparatus 100 may transmit only the Bluetoothsignal of one of the first communicator 110 and the second communicator120, and the audio output apparatus 200 may transmit only one responsesignal to the received Bluetooth signal. The first communicator 110 andthe second communicator 120 may calculate the distances y₁ and y₂ to theaudio output apparatus 200 using the strength of the received oneresponse signal.

In response to the distances y₁ and y₂ being calculated, the horizontalposition of the audio output apparatus 200 may be calculated bytriangulation. That is, in response to a distance d₁ between the firstcommunicator 110 and the second communicator 120 being knowninformation, and the distance y₁ between the first communicator 110 andthe audio output apparatus 200, and the distance y₂ between the secondcommunicator 120 and the audio output apparatus 200 being calculated,three elements of a triangle (lengths of the three sides) may bedetermined, and accordingly, the processor 130 may determine thehorizontal position of the audio output apparatus 200.

The response signal may include information related to the time at whichthe first and the second Bluetooth signals are received. In this case,the processor 130 may calculate times required for the first and thesecond Bluetooth signals to arrive at the audio output apparatus 200based on the time difference between the time at which the first and thesecond Bluetooth signals are transmitted and the time at which the firstand the second Bluetooth signals are received, and may calculate thedistances between the first communicator 110 and the second communicator120 and the audio output apparatus 200 using the information on thecalculated times and the speed information of the Bluetooth signals.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of anaudio output apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the audio output apparatus 200 includes an audiooutputter 210, a communicator 220, and a processor 230.

The audio outputter 210 is configured to output an audio signal througha set channel according to a pitch of the output audio signal.Specifically, the channel of the audio output apparatus 200 may includedifferent channels corresponding to audio output functions of a front Lspeaker, a front R speaker, a rear L speaker, a rear R speaker, a centerspeaker, a sub-woofer, and the like.

The communicator 220 is configured to receive first and second Bluetoothsignals transmitted from the electronic apparatus 100. In response tothe first and the second Bluetooth signals being received, thecommunicator 220 may transmit response signals corresponding thereto,and accordingly, may perform pairing with the electronic apparatus 100according to one of the first and the second Bluetooth signals.

The processor 230 is configured to control the overall operation of theaudio output apparatus 200.

The processor 230 may control to transmit the response signals to thefirst and the second Bluetooth signals to the electronic apparatus 100through the communicator 220, and, in response to pairing beingperformed with the electronic apparatus 100, the processor 230 may set achannel of an audio to be output through the audio outputter 210 basedon information on the location of the audio output apparatus 200, whichis received from the electronic apparatus 100.

Specifically, the processor 230 may receive, from the electronicapparatus 100, information on target locations where the plurality ofaudio output apparatuses 200 should be arranged, and channelscorresponding to the target locations, and may set a channelcorresponding to the closest target location to the audio outputapparatus 200 as the channel of the audio to be output through the audiooutputter 210, based on the received information. However, the audiooutput apparatus 200 may further include a storage to store theinformation on the target locations of the audio output apparatuses 200and the channels corresponding to the target locations. The processor230 may search the closest target location to the current location ofthe audio output apparatus 200 based on the stored information and thelocation information received from the electronic apparatus 100, and mayset to output the audio through the channel corresponding to thesearched target location.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the electronic apparatus 100may determine the location of the audio output apparatus 200 and maytransmit, to the audio output apparatus 200, a control signal forsetting a channel of the audio output apparatus 200 according to thedetermined location. In this case, the processor 230 may set the channelof the audio output apparatus 200 according to the received controlsignal.

FIG. 5 is a view to illustrate a method for changing an output levelaccording to a distance of an audio output apparatus to a targetlocation according to an exemplary embodiment.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor 130 of theelectronic apparatus 100 may control to transmit, to the audio outputapparatus 200, a control signal for adjusting an output level of theaudio output apparatus 200 based on the determined location of the audiooutput apparatus 200. For example, the processor 130 may transmit, tothe audio output apparatus 200, a control signal for increasing theoutput level of the audio output apparatus 200 in proportion to adistance to the location of the audio output apparatus 200 from apredetermined location. Herein, the predetermined location may be auser's location and the processor 130 may estimate the user's locationwith reference to the location of each audio output apparatus 200.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the audio output system 1000, the electronicapparatus 100 may store information on a range of appropriate locationswhere the audio output apparatuses should be arranged, that is,information on target locations 51-56. Referring to FIG. 5, even whenthe user arranges the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 withoutdistinguishing them from one another, the electronic apparatus 100 mayautomatically set channels corresponding to the closest target locationsto the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 as channels of the audiooutput apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 based on mapping information stored inthe electronic apparatus 100. However, even when the user can arrangethe audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 close to the targetlocations 51-56, it is difficult to exactly arrange the audio outputapparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 at the target locations 51-56. As shown inFIG. 5, the audio output apparatus 200-3 corresponding to the center maybe appropriately arranged at the target location 53, but the audiooutput apparatuses 200-1, 200-2, 200-4, 200-5, 200-6 corresponding tothe front L speaker, the front R speaker, the rear L speaker, the rear Rspeaker, and the sub-woofer may be arranged spaced from the closestlocations 51, 52, 54, 55, and 56 by distances a, b, c, d, and e,respectively.

Accordingly, it is necessary to adjust the output levels of the audiooutput apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 such that the user can listen to thebest audio as when the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 areappropriately arranged at the target locations.

The processor 130 may adjust the output levels of the audio outputapparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 based on the distances (a-e) from the currentlocations of the audio output apparatuses 200-1, 200-2, 200-4, 200-5,and 200-6 to the closest target locations 51, 52, 54, 55, and 56. Theoutput level may be adjusted according to a distance to the targetlocation and a direction. For example, when the audio output apparatusis arranged far away from a user location 57, the processor 130 maycontrol the output level of the audio output apparatus to increase. Tothe contrary, when the audio output apparatus is arranged close to theuser location 57, the processor 130 may control the output level of theaudio output apparatus to be reduced.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram to illustrate an interaction between anelectronic apparatus and a plurality of audio output apparatusesaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

First, in response to first and second Bluetooth signals beingtransmitted by the electronic apparatus 100 simultaneously (S610), theplurality of audio output apparatuses 200 receive the first and thesecond Bluetooth signals (S620). The audio output apparatuses transmitresponse signals to the first and the second Bluetooth signals (S630),and the electronic apparatus 100 which has received the response signalsmay determine the respective locations of the plurality of audio outputapparatuses 200 based on information on times at which the responsesignals are received (S640). The electronic apparatus 100 and theplurality of audio output apparatuses 200 may perform pairing using thefirst Bluetooth signal or the second Bluetooth signal (S650). However,the pairing operation in step S650 may precede step S640. In response tothe pairing operation being completed, the electronic apparatus 100 mayset different channels according to the respective locations of theplurality of audio output apparatuses 200 (S660). However, the channelsetting operation in step S660 may precede the Bluetooth pairingoperation in step S650. The electronic apparatus 100 may transmit, tothe plurality of audio output apparatuses 200, control signals forcontrolling the plurality of audio output apparatuses 200 to operate atthe set channels (S670).

FIG. 7 is a view to illustrate a method for arranging when audio outputapparatuses are not in use according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, a plurality of audio output apparatuses 200-1 to200-6 may have similar shapes and may be implemented in a dock structureto be connected with one another. Accordingly, when the audio outputsystem 1000 is not in use, the user may bind the audio outputapparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 to one another to keep or charge them in theproximity of the electronic apparatus 100 and a TV 300 as shown in FIG.7, and may unbind the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 from oneanother and arrange them only when the audio output system 1000 is inuse. Therefore, it is easy to arrange the audio output apparatuses 200-1to 200-6. In this case, the user may arrange the audio outputapparatuses 200-1 to 200-6 without distinguishing them from one another,and the electronic apparatus 100 may automatically set channelsaccording to the locations of the audio output apparatuses 200-1 to200-6.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronicapparatus in detail according to another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the detailed configuration of theelectronic apparatus shown in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 8, theelectronic apparatus 100′ includes a first communicator 110, a secondcommunicator 120, a processor 130, a storage 140, an audio processor150, and a user interface 160. From among the components shown in FIG.8, the same components as those illustrated in FIG. 2 will not bedescribed in detail since they have been described in FIG. 2.

The processor 130 controls the overall operation of the electronicapparatus 100′. Specifically, the processor 130 may include a read onlymemory (ROM) 131, a random access memory (RAM) 132, a central processingunit 133, first to n-th interfaces 134-1 to 134-n, and a bus 135.

The ROM 131, the RAM 132, the CPU 133, and the first to the n-thinterfaces 134-1 to 134-n may be connected with one another via the bus135.

The first to the n-th interfaces 134-1 to 134-n are connected with theabove-described various components. One of the interfaces may be anetwork interface which is connected with an external device via anetwork.

The CPU 133 may access the storage 140 to boot using an operating system(O/S) stored in the storage 140. In addition, the CPU 133 may performvarious operations using various programs, contents, data, or the likestored in the storage 140.

The ROM 131 stores a set of commands for booting a system. In responseto a turn-on command being inputted and power being supplied, the CPU133 may boot a system by executing the 0/S stored in the storage 140according to a command stored in the ROM 131.

The RAM 132 is a main memory device of the processor 130 and may be usedto load the 0/S or a program executed in the 0/S or to temporarily storedata. In response to booting being completed, the CPU 133 may copyvarious application programs stored in the storage 140 into the RAM 132,and may perform various operations by executing the application programscopied into the RAM 132.

The first to the n-th interfaces 134-1 to 134-n are connected with theabove-described components. One of the interfaces may be a networkinterface which is connected with an external device via a network.

The operation of the above-described processor 130 may be performed by aprogram stored in the storage 140.

The storage 140 may store an O/S software module for driving theelectronic apparatus 100′ and various data such as various multimediacontents. In particular, the storage 140 may store programs such as acommunication module for providing various communication functions, asignal processing module, a location calculation module, and a UIproviding module.

The processor 130 may transmit a signal to the audio output apparatus200 using the communication module. For example, the processor 130 mayreceive, from the audio output apparatus 200, a response signal or asignal including time information regarding time at which a Bluetoothsignal is received, using the communication module.

The processor 130 may process the response signal received from theaudio output apparatus 200 or process a signal to be transmitted to theaudio output apparatus 200 using the signal processing module.

In addition, the processor 130 may calculate the location of the audiooutput apparatus 200, for example, a distance and a direction of theaudio output apparatus 200 from the electronic apparatus 100, based on avalue processed through the signal processing module, by using thelocation calculation module.

In addition, the electronic apparatus 100′ may further include the audioprocessor 150 to process audio data, and the user interface 160including a camera, a microphone, and a remote control signal receiverto perform various interactions with the user.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart to illustrate a control method of an electronicapparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

First, a first radio signal and a second radio signal are transmittedthrough the first and the second communicators according to apredetermined wireless communication method (S910).

Thereafter, from the audio output apparatus which has received the firstand the second radio signals, response signals to the first and thesecond radio signals are received through the first and the secondcommunicators (S920). In this case, the channel of the audio outputapparatuses may include a channel corresponding to at least one of afront speaker, a rear speaker, a center speaker, and a sub-woofer forimplementing a surround effect of 5.1 channels.

Thereafter, the location of the audio output apparatus is determinedbased on a distance between the first and the second communicators andthe received response signals (S930). In this case, distances betweenthe first and the second communicators and the audio output apparatusmay be determined based on a time difference between the time at whichthe first and the second radio signals are generated and the time atwhich the response signals are received at the first and the secondcommunicators, and the relative location of the audio output apparatusto the electronic apparatus may be determined based on the determineddistances and the distance between the first and the secondcommunicators.

In addition, the response signals may include information regarding thetime at which the audio output apparatuses receive the first and thesecond radio signals. In this case, the location of the audio outputapparatus may be determined based on the distance between the first andthe second communicators and the difference between the time at whichthe first and the second radio signals are generated and the time atwhich the audio output apparatus receives the first and the second radiosignals.

In response to the response signals to the first and the second radiosignals being received from the plurality of audio output apparatuses,the relative locations of the plurality of audio output apparatuses maybe determined based on the response signals received from the pluralityof audio output apparatuses.

Thereafter, a communication connection is established using at least oneof the received response signals (S940).

Thereafter, a channel of the audio output apparatus may be set based onthe determined location of the audio output apparatus (S950). In thiscase, a channel corresponding to the closest target location to theaudio output apparatus may be set as the channel of the audio outputapparatus by using pre-stored information regarding the target locationsof the plurality of audio output apparatuses and channels correspondingto the target locations.

In response to the relative locations of the plurality of audio outputapparatuses being determined based on the response signals received fromthe plurality of audio output apparatuses, channels of the plurality ofaudio output apparatuses may be differently set based on the relativelocations of the plurality of audio output apparatuses.

In addition, a control signal for adjusting an output level of the audiooutput apparatus based on the determined location of the audio outputapparatus may be transmitted to the audio output apparatus. In thiscase, a control signal for increasing the output level of the audiooutput apparatus in proportion to a distance to the audio outputapparatus from a predetermined location may be transmitted to the audiooutput apparatus.

According to various exemplary embodiments described above, normal userscan easily and conveniently arrange speakers in a home theater system.

The control method of the electronic apparatus according to theabove-described various exemplary embodiments may be implemented byusing a program and may be stored in various recording media. That is, acomputer program which is processed by various processors and executesthe above-described control methods may be stored in a recording mediumand used.

For example, a non-transitory computer readable medium storing aprogram, which performs the steps of: transmitting a first Bluetoothsignal and a second Bluetooth signal via a first communicator and asecond communicator; receiving, from an audio output apparatus which hasreceived the first and the second Bluetooth signals, response signals tothe first and the second radio signals via the first and the secondcommunicators; determining a location of the audio output apparatusbased on a distance between the first and the second communicators andthe received response signals; performing pairing using one of thereceived response signals; and setting a channel of the audio outputapparatus based on the determined location of the audio outputapparatus, may be provided.

The non-transitory computer readable medium refers to a medium thatstores data semi-permanently rather than storing data for a very shorttime, such as a register, a cache, a memory or etc., and is readable byan apparatus. Specifically, the above-described various applications orprograms may be stored in the non-transitory computer readable mediumsuch as a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a harddisk, a Blu-ray disk, a universal serial bus (USB), a memory card, a ROMor etc., and may be provided.

The foregoing exemplary embodiments and advantages are merely exemplaryand are not to be construed as limiting. The present teaching can bereadily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also, the description ofthe exemplary embodiments is intended to be illustrative, and not tolimit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a firstcommunicator configured to transmit a first radio signal and receive afirst response signal; a second communicator configured to transmit asecond radio signal and receive a second response signal; and aprocessor configured to: in response to response signals to the firstand the second radio signals being received from an audio outputapparatus, which has received the first and the second radio signals,via the first and the second communicators, determine a location of theaudio output apparatus based on a distance between the first and thesecond communicators and the received response signals; establish acommunication connection with the audio output apparatus based on onefrom among the first response signal and the second response signal; andset a channel of the audio output apparatus based on the location of theaudio output apparatus that is determined.
 2. The electronic apparatusof claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine afirst distance between the first communicator and the audio outputapparatus based on a first time difference between a time at which thefirst radio signal is transmitted and a time at which the first responsesignal is received, determine a second distance between the secondcommunicator and the audio output apparatus based on a second timedifference between a time at which the second radio signal istransmitted and a time at which the second response signal is received,and determine the location of the audio output apparatus based on thefirst distance, the second distance, and a distance between the firstcommunicator and the second communicator.
 3. The electronic apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the first response signal comprises informationregarding a time at which the audio output apparatus receives the firstradio signal, wherein the second response signal comprises informationregarding a time at which the audio output apparatus receives the secondradio signal, and wherein the processor is further configured todetermine the location of the audio output apparatus based on the firstdistance, the second distance, a first time difference between a time atwhich the first radio signal is generated and a time at which the audiooutput apparatus receives the first radio signal, and a second timedifference between a time at which the second radio signal is generatedand a time at which the audio output apparatus receives the second radiosignal.
 4. The electronic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the audio outputapparatus is one of a plurality of audio output apparatuses, and whereinthe processor is further configured to: control the first communicatorand the second communicator to communicate with each of the plurality ofaudio output apparatuses, determine relative locations of each of theplurality of audio output apparatuses based on received correspondingresponse signals, and set a channel of each of the plurality of audiooutput apparatuses based on the relative locations.
 5. The electronicapparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured totransmit, to the audio output apparatus, a control signal for adjustingan output level of the audio output apparatus based on the location ofthe audio output apparatus.
 6. The electronic apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first communicator and the second communicator areconfigured to communicate according to a Bluetooth communication method.7. The electronic apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a storageconfigured to store information regarding a plurality of targetlocations respectively corresponding to of a plurality of audio outputapparatuses and channels corresponding to the target locations, andwherein the processor is further configured to set a channelcorresponding to a closest target location to the audio output apparatusas the channel of the audio output apparatus based on the informationstored in the storage.
 8. The electronic apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe channel of the audio output apparatus comprises a channelcorresponding to at least one from among a front speaker, a rearspeaker, a center speaker, and a sub-woofer.
 9. A control method of anelectronic apparatus, the control method comprising: transmitting afirst radio signal via a first communicator; transmitting a second radiosignal via a second communicator; receiving a first response signal viathe first communicator; receiving, from an audio output apparatus whichhas received the second radio signal, a second response signal via thesecond communicator; determining a location of the audio outputapparatus based on a distance between the first and the secondcommunicators and the received response signals; establishing acommunication connection using one from among the first response signaland the second response signal; and setting a channel of the audiooutput apparatus based on the location of the audio output apparatus.10. The control method of claim 9, wherein the determining the locationcomprises: determining a first distance between the first communicatorand the audio output apparatus based on a first time difference betweena time at which the first radio signal is transmitted and a time atwhich the first response signal is received, determining a seconddistance between the second communicator and the audio output apparatusbased on a second time difference between a time at which the secondradio signal is transmitted and a time at which the second responsesignal is received, and wherein the determining the location of theaudio output apparatus comprises determining the location of the audiooutput apparatus based on the first distance, the second distance, and adistance between the first communicator and the second communicator. 11.The control method of claim 10, wherein the first response signalcomprises information regarding a time at which the audio outputapparatus receives the first radio signal, wherein the second responsesignal comprises information regarding a time at which the audio outputapparatus receives the second radio signal, and wherein the determiningthe location comprises determining the location of the audio outputapparatus based on the first distance, the second distance, a first timedifference between a time at which the first radio signal is generatedand a time at which the audio output apparatus receives the first radiosignal, and a second time difference between a time at which the secondradio signal is generated and a time at which the audio output apparatusreceives the second radio signal.
 12. The control method of claim 9,wherein the audio output apparatus is one of a plurality of audio outputapparatuses, wherein the receiving comprises receiving response signalsfrom each of the plurality of audio output apparatuses, wherein thedetermining the location comprises determining relative locations ofeach of the plurality of audio output apparatuses based on responsesignals received from the plurality of audio output apparatuses, andwherein the setting comprises setting a channel of each of the pluralityof audio output apparatuses based on the relative locations.
 13. Thecontrol method of claim 9, further comprising transmitting, to the audiooutput apparatus, a control signal for adjusting an output level of theaudio output apparatus based on the location of the audio outputapparatus.
 14. The control method of claim 9, wherein the firstcommunicator and the second communicator are configured to communicateaccording to a Bluetooth communication method.
 15. The control method ofclaim 9, wherein the setting comprises setting the channel correspondingto a closest target location to the audio output apparatus as thechannel of the audio output apparatus using pre-stored informationregarding target locations of a plurality of audio output apparatusesand channels corresponding to the target locations.
 16. The controlmethod of claim 9, wherein the channel of the audio output apparatuscomprises a channel corresponding to at least one from among a frontspeaker, a rear speaker, a center speaker, and a sub-woofer.
 17. Anaudio output apparatus comprising: an audio outputter; a communicatorconfigured to receive a first radio signal and a second radio signalfrom an electronic apparatus; and a processor configured to: transmit afirst response signal responding to the first radio signal and a secondresponse signal responding to the second radio signal to the electronicapparatus; establish a communication connection with the electronicapparatus using at least one from among the first response signal andthe second response signal; and set a channel of audio to be outputthrough the audio outputter based on location information of the audiooutput apparatus received from the electronic apparatus.
 18. The audiooutput apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to adjust an output level based on the location informationof the audio output apparatus.
 19. The audio output apparatus of claim17, wherein the communicator is further configured to communicateaccording to a Bluetooth communication method.
 20. The audio outputapparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured toreceive, from the electronic apparatus, information regarding aplurality of target locations of a plurality of audio output apparatusesand a plurality of channels respectively corresponding to the pluralityof target locations, and set a channel of the plurality of channelscorresponding to a closest target location to the audio outputapparatus, of the plurality of target locations, as the channel of audioto be output through the audio outputter.